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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 2, 1997)
j u s t ou« ▼ m a y 2 . 1 9 9 7 ▼ 7 Food The Way Mother Nature Intended relations with a prostitute is held to be acceptable as long as you pay the person yourself. Adding to the conftision is the fact that the Tibetan leader has previously made remarks which indicated his approval of same-sex love. A group of gay Buddhists who have called on the Dalai Lama to address the issue have been granted an audience with him in June, when he will be visiting San Francisco to speak at a confer ence on nonviolence sponsored by Tibet House. Eva Herzer, president of the International Committee of Lawyers for Tibet and coordinator of the meeting, said the statements may appear to be discriminatory against homosexuals, but are not because they apply to straight people as well. For exam ple, the Dalai Lama writes: “Homosexuality.. .is not improper in itself. What is improper is the use of organs already defined as inappropriate for sexual contact.” Steve Peskind, co-founder of San Francisco’s Buddhist AIDS Project, contends there is still cause to be alarmed, because the Dalai Lama’s words have already contributed to anti-homo- sexual attitudes around the world. In an open letter to the leader published in the January issue of the newsletter “Gay Buddhist Fellowship,” Peskind pointed out the inconsistencies in the teachings and their potentially harmful effects. The degree of distress caused by the remarks varies widely among gay Buddhists, with many saying it simply doesn’t matter because the reli gion does not revere the Dalai Lama as a final authority and encourages practitioners to inter pret and make decisions for themselves. Still, others feel the Dalai Lama’s position as a world- renowned Nobel Peace laureate give greater weight to his words, particularly outside the Bud dhist community, and hope the June meeting will produce a statement supporting universal human rights for sexual minorities. Seattle 02386362 improves, sues to regain job In what should prove to be a precedent-setting case, John Mace of Seattle is suing Alaska Air lines to get his job back, reports the Seattle Times Company Business News. He resigned his posi tion as a flight attendant in 1994, after being told by doctors that he had six months to live. Mace, 41, was suffering from AIDS complications and had been on unpaid medical leave for several months when he received that prognosis. He quit— rather than extend his leave as allowed under union contract—in order to gain access to his retirement account, pension plan and life insurance so that he could pay for the drug treat ments which have now lowered the presence of HIV in his system to undetectable levels. Alaska Airlines has agreed to rehire Mace, but it will not reinstate his previous seniority of nearly 10 years because he resigned. The company says this policy maintains fairness to other employees. However, beginning again as a new hire would require Mace to be on call 24 hours a day and would likely mean reassignment to Anchorage or Los Angeles, far from his doctors in Seattle. Retaining his seniority would allow him more flight choices and scheduling options. Mace’s lawsuit contends that the seniority benefits he is being denied by the airline constitute "reasonable accommodation” under the Ameri cans with Disabilities Act. Lou Cancelmi, an Alaska Airlines spokesman, told the Business News that the company ’ s actions are not discriminatory, and that the reasonable accommodation rule for people with disabilities does not apply in this situation because Mace told the company he had "recovered.” Organic Produce Natural Groceries Delicious Deli From Scratch Cruelty-Free Personal Care Vitamins, Homéopathies, & Herbs Environmentally Safe Cleaning Products Food Front C ooperative G rocery 2375 9 Om °P9n 0 r t if o 9 NW Thurman Si. Portland 2 2 2 -5 6 5 8 >QiL Pri) SMUT! COMIX! WEIRDNESS! That’s right, kids, you won’t find any books filled with big Too hard on the brain! will find is Portland's best assortment of: words here at C ounterM cdia. What you o Old gay physique mags and nudie mags o Gay photo and art erotica o Hard-to-find gay mags ( T*R*A*S*H , STH) o Erotic gay fiction and non-fiction Plus, of course, the usual stuff on (yawn) body piercing, serial killers, drugs and freaks. CounterM cdia: One-stop shopping for Portland’s depraved! 927 SW Oak (half a block from Powell’s). 11-7 M-Sat, 12-6 Sun. Rudy Galindo The first youth pride celebration in the nation’s capitol brought a few celebrities to Washington, D.C., on April 19. According to a Youth Pride Alliance press release, figure skater Rudy Galindo, author Torie Osbom and activist Jessica Xavier were featured speakers at the event, which was sponsored by the organization in order to provide a safe place to celebrate visibility, awareness and pride for all young people and to highlight issues facing sexual minority youth in particular. Galindo is the first Mexican American and the first openly gay person to win a national figure skating championship. Osbom, a life-long activ ist and former director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, is the author of Coming Home to America: A Roadmap to Gay and Les bian Empowerment and writes for the Advocate. Singer-songwriter Xavier, an out bisexual trans sexual, is the founder of the D.C. chapter of Transgender Nation and a board member of It’s Time, America!, the first national transgender political action committee. flllllfEIUlSElEML FO R GAY, LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL COLLEGE LEVEL ORGANIZATIONS AND MEMBERS May 16 - 18, 1997 at Central Washington University Compiled by Christopher D. Cuttone Offering a unde selection o f custom and imported rugs... ❖ Braided Colonial Rugs 9 Ferrucci 9 Corinthian 9 Louis de Poortere ❖ Missoni 9 Custom Designing Available CORINTHIAN RUG COMPANY Showrooms: 140 NE Broadway 287-6989 „ i • i ! : Friday: Northwest Collegiate Drag Show, Queer Dating Game and dance Saturday: Guest Speaker Paul Siegel from Washington, DC, First Amendment Rights for GLB and an update on gays in the military...PLUS Workshops on: relationships, campus activism, GLB families, how to organize your campus/community, Northwest GLB history...and T O N S more. Sunday: Brunch, information and directory dissemina tion, good-byes Call: (509) 963-1411 for reservations E-mail: galaclub@aurora.CWU.edu for more information EVERYONE IS INVITED T O A TT EN D Registration Fee: $60. This includes meals, lodging, tick ets to events, information directory and all the hoop-la of T H E CONFERENCE!